File: Ottawa Senators goalie Patrick Lalime (L) deflects a shot away from the goal by Washington Capitals' Steve Konowalchuk in the first period of their game at the MCI Center in Washington March 11, 2001. REUTERS/Joe Giza (Joe Giza/Reuters)

File: Ottawa Senators goalie Patrick Lalime (L) deflects a shot away from the goal by Washington Capitals' Steve Konowalchuk in the first period of their game at the MCI Center in Washington March 11, 2001. REUTERS/Joe Giza(Joe Giza/Reuters)

Here are four statistics Gabriel Desjardins says are changing hockey and a fifth created by the Sports Analytics Institute that the Pittsburgh Penguins are using on a regular basis:

1. CORSI

What is it?

Corsi is shots directed on the net minus shots directed on your own net. It includes all goals, shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots.

What does it tell you?

In simple terms, who has the puck and who is spending most of their time in the offensive zone. Vancouver Canucks linemates Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond had two of the highest even-strength Corsi ratings in the NHL last season.

2. QUALCOMP

What is it?

A measurement of the quality of opponents players face in a game. It is a complex calculation that evaluates every player on the ice using an advanced version of plus-minus or Corsi.

What does it tell you?

Who coaches are using against other team’s top lines. Detroit Red Wings captain Nick Lidstrom and New York Rangers forward Ryan Callahan were among the leaders in the statistic last season.

3. PDO

What is it?

The combination of shooting percentage and save percentage when a player is on the ice.

What does it tell you?

This stat is often regarded as measuring the “luck” factor, as some players benefit from extremely high shooting or save percentages not created by their own play that dramatically affect plus-minus. A player with a very high or low PDO is considered unlikely to be able to sustain that level of success or failure over time.

Little-known Boston Bruins defenceman Adam McQuaid led the NHL in PDO this season and was plus-30, a performance an advanced statistician would deem extremely difficult to duplicate next season.

4. ZONE START

What is it?

The percentage of faceoffs players are on the ice for in the offensive zone. Neutral zone faceoffs are not counted.

What does it tell you?

How coaches use their different line combinations. Vancouver’s Sedin twins led the NHL in zone start last season, as they were on the ice for almost three times as many offensive zone draws as defensive zone ones.

Teammate Manny Malhotra, meanwhile, was in the opposite role, taking mostly defensive draws, which has a negative effect on plus-minus.

5. PREDICTED GOALS SCORED

What is it?

According to SAI’s definition, “PGS is the probability that a shot will result in a goal assuming an average quality shooter took the shot on an average quality goaltender.” (Unlike metrics used by Desjardins and others online, the methodology involved in PGS is proprietary and not made publicly available.)

What does it tell you?

Pittsburgh Penguins director of player personnel Dan MacKinnon lists shot quality, shot location, shot characteristics and who is on the ice when those shots are taken as the key information it provides.